£10,000 Loans

What do I need to apply for a £10,000 loan?

We partner with credit unions to help you access fair, affordable loans.

Credit unions are not-for-profit financial organisations, who use members’ savings to offer affordable loans to other members. The money credit unions make is used to provide better rates for their savers and borrowers or re-invested back into the union to further improve their services.

To borrow £10,000 from a credit union, you’ll need to become a member.

Becoming a member doesn’t involve any fees, but you’ll need to meet the membership requirements. These can vary, but the credit unions we work with accept people in almost every field of employment, as well as members of organisations such as the National Trust and Co-op.

If you’re looking for a £10,000 loan, we can match you with the credit union that best suits your personal circumstances.

Am I eligible for a £10,000 loan?

As well as becoming a member, you’ll also need to meet specific eligibility criteria to be approved for a £10,000 loan from one of our partner credit unions. You’ll need to:

Live in the UK (excluding Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man)
Be aged between 21 and 65
Be employed and earn at least £18,000 a year.

Your eligibility for a £10,000 loan will also be subject to affordability and credit checks; these will be performed by the credit union when you apply.

Can I get a £10,000 personal loan?

Our partner credit unions offer unsecured personal loans between £1,000 and £25,000 over 12-60 months. Unsecured loans don’t need to be guaranteed by an asset, such as a property you own.

Providing you meet all of the eligibility criteria and pass the relevant credit and affordability checks, you’ll be able to apply for a £10,000 personal loan from one of the credit unions we work with.

How quickly can I get a £10,000 loan?

If your application is successful, the credit unions we work with will aim to get your £10k loan to you within approximately four working days from your application.

In most cases, they’ll aim to get you a decision on your £10,000 loan within two working days and you will then receive the funds within another two working days.

There may be instances where this process takes longer, for example if additional checks are required to verify your income or check for fraud.

How do I get a £10,000 loan?

Applying for a £10,000 loan with one of our credit unions is simple; just fill in the online application form.

Here’s a guide to the application process:

First you need to decide over what time period you want to pay your £10,000 loan back. The credit unions we work with offer loan terms from 12-60 months.
You’ll then request a personalised quote. To provide you with this, we’ll perform a soft credit check which won’t affect your credit score, and only you’ll be able to see a record of it on your credit report.
If you pass the eligibility criteria set by our partner credit unions, we will let you know the APR you will be offered on your £10,000 loan - your personalised quote is valid for 30 days.
We will then send you a loan agreement, coupled with terms and conditions of the loan contract, for you to review to ensure this £10,000 is the right product for you. Once you have read and are happy with the terms of the loan you’ll sign your loan agreement.
To complete our final checks, we will then conduct a hard credit search on your credit report, which other lenders or any organisation with access to your report will be able to see.
The credit union will aim to make a final decision about your personal loan within two working days. If successful, you should receive your £10,000 within approximately four working days of your application.

What is the monthly payment on a £10,000 loan?

Monthly repayments on a £10,000 loan will vary between borrowers; this is because it’s dependent on factors like the interest rate you’re given and your loan term.

Typically the longer your loan term, the lower your monthly payments. However, long loan terms will typically mean that the overall cost of your loan will be higher.

This is because the longer the period you borrow over, the more interest you’re likely to pay as you will be paying it over a longer period of time. When deciding how long you want to borrow £10,000 for, you’ll need to carefully consider how much you can afford to repay monthly versus the overall cost of your loan.

You can use our loan calculator to get an idea of how much the monthly cost of your £10,000 loan could be. The loan calculator uses a representative APR, which is the average interest rate our credit union partners charged to customers that took out a loan with them in the last few months.

When you apply for a £10,000 loan with one of our partner credit unions, you’ll be given a personalised interest rate. This will be based on your circumstances and may be different from the representative APR used in the loan calculator. This means the monthly cost of your loan may be higher or lower than the example in the calculator.

Can I get a £10,000 loan with bad credit?

There are three leading credit reference agencies in the UK - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Despite the fact each has different methods of scoring, you’ll fall into one of four categories: Bad, Fair, Good or Excellent.

The loans offered by the credit unions we partner with are designed for people with a ‘fair’ or better credit rating. This means to be able to get a £10,000 loan from one of the credit unions we work with; you’ll need to have a ‘fair’, ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ credit rating.

Here’s an idea of what the three major credit reference agencies consider to be fair credit:

Equifax - Between 439-530 (out of 1000)
TransUnion - 566-603 (out of 710)
Experian - 721-880 (out of 999)

It’s a good idea to check your credit score regularly. Websites or apps like Experian, Clearscore and Credit Karma allow you to check your credit score for free.

If you have a bad credit score and think you’re likely to be turned down for a £10,000 loan, it’s a good idea to take steps to improve your credit score before you apply.

Here are some ways to help boost your credit score:

Make sure you pay your utility bills on time
Make any credit or store card minimum repayments in full and on time
Register to vote - this helps to prove your fixed address
Check that all the information on your credit report is accurate - if you spot a mistake, let the credit reference agency know ASAP
Avoid making more than one new credit application within six months - multiple credit applications can make some lenders think you’re in financial difficulty
Don’t withdraw cash from a credit card - this can make it seem like you’re in financial trouble
It’s a good idea to keep your credit card utilisation below 25% of your limit. Using more than 25% of your credit card limit can lower your credit score

How long will it take to repay a £10,000 loan?

How long it will take you to repay a £10,000 loan will depend on your loan term, which you can choose when you apply. The credit unions we work with offer loans between £1,000 and £25,000 over 12 to 60 months.

Remember, longer loan terms will bring down your monthly repayments, but may increase the overall cost of your loan. So it’s important to think carefully about how much you can afford to repay monthly and how much the loan will cost overall before deciding on which loan term to choose.

Can I pay back a £10k loan early?

If you decide to take out a £10,000 personal loan from one of our credit unions, you’ll be able to make early repayments or pay back the loan in full early.

However, the credit unions we work with may charge an additional fee for repaying your loan before the end of your loan term. It’s important to work out if repaying your loan early will cost you more overall.

If you’ve taken out a £10,000 loan with one of our credit unions but changed your mind about borrowing, you can pay back the total amount without incurring any fees or penalties if you do this within 14 days of receiving your loan agreement.

What can I use a £10,000 loan for?

You can use a £10,000 loan from one of our partner credit unions for a variety of purposes, such as:

Spreading the cost of purchases - like a new car, family holiday or new furniture
Help fund major life events - such as a wedding or a funeral
Home improvements - perhaps you’re looking for a new bathroom, conservatory, or kitchen
Consolidating debt - you could consolidate your high-interest-bearing debts into one lower monthly repayment